In the fall of 2012, with the presidential race in full swing, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, two prominent Republican governors with well-known national ambitions, were engaged in a different kind of campaign.

(CNN) – The two leaders of the Republican Governors Association called for the appointment of a special prosecutor Tuesday to investigate any legal wrongdoing within the Internal Revenue Service.

Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin - who both are considered potential candidates for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination - wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama the recent revelation the IRS was applying extra scrutiny to conservative groups applying for tax exempt status amounted to a "witch hunt to prevent Americans from exercising their First Amendment rights."FULL POST

(CNN) - Republican Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina blew off some steam Monday, criticizing lawmakers in Washington for letting partisan bickering get in the way of balancing the budget.

"I could not be more frustrated than I am right now. How many more times are the governors going to have to pick up the mess of Washington DC?" she said at a press conference in the nation's capital for the Republican Governors Association.FULL POST

(CNN) - While Republicans continue to soul search after their party's loss in the presidential election, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour injected a new term Wednesday to describe the GOP's introspection.

"The ground game is really important, and we have to be, I mean we've got to give our political organizational activity a very serious..." he said, taking a pause and looking for the right word. "Proctology exam. We need to look everywhere."FULL POST

Williamsburg, Virginia (CNN) - The war of words over Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital flared Friday morning inside a Virginia trucking company, as the state's normally mild-mannered Gov. Bob McDonnell harshly rebuked the Obama campaign for demanding that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee release more of his tax returns.

At a press conference inside a Williamsburg trucking company organized by the Republican Governors Association to coincide with President Obama's campaign swing through the commonwealth, McDonnell and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker derided the president for using Bain to distract from his "horrible" record in the White House.FULL POST

(CNN) – The Republican Governors Association, which has been aggressively backing Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in his upcoming recall election, said Wednesday they were launching their seventh television ad in the state, this time comparing the records of Walker and his Democratic rival, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

"Since Scott Walker became governor, Wisconsin has gained over 30,000 jobs. Fact," the ad asserts. "With Tom Barrett as mayor, Milwaukee unemployment has gone up 28%. Fact. Scott Walker balanced the budget without raising taxes. Fact. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has raised taxes in seven of his eight years in office. Fact. No opinions. Just the facts."FULL POST

(CNN) – Groups on both sides of the political aisle launched new ads in Wisconsin Wednesday morning, after a Democratic challenger was picked to face incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the recall election.

The Republican Governors Association aimed their fire at Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday. The 30-second spot criticized Barrett's record as mayor, charging him with increasing taxes, government spending and unemployment, a consistent line of attack from Republican groups in the state.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - The Republican Governors Association reported Tuesday that it raised $12.2 million over the past three months. That's $5 million more than the RGA raised during the first quarter of 2008, the last comparable fundraising period.

The RGA's fundraising haul was larger than what they brought in during the first quarter of 2010, when 37 governorships were up for grabs. Twelve contests for governor are taking place this year.FULL POST